Plant, Fish, Dog, Person
by Mango-gogirl
Summary: A small glimpse into the married life of the Defenders of the Earth. Rose/10.5


"You want a what?" Rose asks in bewilderment. She felt she had a right to feel this way since one moment they were spooning in comfortable silence and the next the Doctor was talking about being a normal human.

It's been a long day at Torchwood and she's happy to finally be slime free and home. So it's understandable if she can't quite keep up with what's happening.

"A dog, Rose! Isn't that what you proper humans do? You domesticate wild things and have them fetch your morning paper." The Doctor is no longer spooning her and has, in fact, started jumping around the room gesturing madly. She makes a feeble moan of protest, trying to get him to lie back down and maybe forget about this whole dog business. Finally she sits up to look at him, hair mussed up and tangled.

He just looks so excited about the idea that Rose doesn't want to say no. She doesn't want to say yes either because, quite frankly, she isn't comfortable with the thought of the Doctor having to take care of and feed a mostly dependent animal. He barely remembers to feed himself but ever since he started this half human life he's been prone to picking up "human" hobbies. One moment he'll say that he'll be doing all the cooking, next thing Rose knows she's looking for a new flat since the Doctor's burned the entire kitchen down.

He's also taken to knitting much to Rose's amusement. He'll be plopped down on the armchair in the living room with his glasses slipping down his nose and his tongue between his teeth knitting one and purling two. Though, Rose has gotten some lovely scarfs from it which isn't all that bad. So, really it's not that she doesn't trust him. It's just that she—okay she doesn't trust him.

"How 'bout you start small? Like, a plant or something?"

"A plant? What am I going to do with a plant?" He's stopped jumping about and has turned to face her. The look on his face is so put out that it almost makes Rose change her mind then and there. But then she thinks of the toaster she lost and the pots that her mum had given her as a housewarming gift.

"There's plenty you can do with a plant. You water and prune them and they grow just like a dog would."

"But can a plant fetch you the morning paper? Not an earth one, maybe a Frullien one could but I doubt Torchwood would have one lying about."

"If it means so much to you, I'll fetch you the paper and I'll do it without drooling all over the funnies."

"Ro-ose!"

This has gotten ridiculous. Rose has a feeling that he's not going to let it go anytime soon. He'll spend the whole morning whinging on about it and throwing "subtle" hints her way until she gives in.

She doesn't even know why he wants a dog so badly, they're both hardly ever home what with the earth needing saving almost bi-weekly. Rose knows, though, that once he gets stuck on an idea it's hard for him to forget about it.

"Listen, here's what we'll do; you get a plant first. Then when you've proven you can handle that we'll promote you to goldfish. You can work your way up to a dog."

When she's finished talking she can see the Doctor looks insulted and sulky. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and sniffs haughtily before saying, "I'm not a child; I think I can handle a dog. After all I've kept humans on board all the time and I remembered to feed and walk them."

He's using that superior Time Lord voice he gets from time to time, the one that never fails to rile Rose up.

"Did you just compare me to a dog?" Rose is trying to keep her voice even but her face promises trouble.

"No! No, no, no. I just meant, well, people are a step up from a dog and I've taken care of loads of humans before!"

"People are a step up from dogs?"

"Yes! So it goes: plant, goldfish, dog, person."

Rose's eyebrows rise, "Are, are you suggesting that after we get a dog we get a _person_?"

"What? No! I mean not in the way you're thinking." He pauses at her horrified face before sputtering back into action. "Not babies either! I'm not suggesting we make a baby just because I did well with the dog!"

"You want a baby?" Rose's brow is crinkling with worry, honestly she barely trusted him with the plant and although he had mentioned that he had kids once she never pictured them traveling around with a bunch of screaming babies through time and space.

All the time they'd been together she never once thought that he might actually want children. It seemed far too domestic for him. Despite his new human past times he's been experimenting with and the way he and Tony have bonded he's still just as strange and wonderful as he's always been. The idea of settling down and having a family is actually a little disconcerting.

"Uh, _no_. Do—er—do you want one?" The Doctor asks hesitantly as if he's afraid that he's offended her deeply on some human standard. He's still learning these things after all.

"No."

"Oh. Then why are we talking about it?"

Rose can feel a headache coming and rubs at her temples as if to prevent it. "Because you said people are next on the list after dog."

"Only in terms of responsibility! Doesn't mean I want another one! I have you, I don't need anyone else."

She smiles slightly before dryly saying, "You know, that'd be almost sweet if it weren't for the fact that you implied I'm a handful."

He leans down and takes her hand, his thumb runs over the gold band on her finger. "Well, aren't I your responsibility? You look after me and I look after you."

Rose smiles even wider at him before pulling him back down on the bed for a cuddle. The Doctor's got his nose squashed against her collarbone and she can feel his hair tickling her jaw. "Maybe I should trade you in for a plant, it'd be easier. It certainly wouldn't set fire to my appliances."

His only response is a slightly muffled insulted noise against her that sets Rose into giggles.

* * *

AN: Haha well, I actually don't know where this came from or if it has a plot (it doesn't). I just miss these crazy kids.


End file.
